Arsenal relegate West Brom, but it won’t fool anybody by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, for some unknown reason I can’t learn my lesson and I decided to watch the Arsenal game. Smith Rowe and Willian scored their first goals in the PL for Arsenal, but the only thing that will be remembered from the game is we relegated big Sam.
Arteta brought his raincoat after the storm has already passed and moved Saka to left back and Martinelli to CF, we actually put 2 central midfielders and we played better. It’s amazing that we didn’t play a false 9 and 10 attacking midfielders and we looked better. Back to basics, or big brains?
Arteta spoke about the pain he felt. Please Mikel, all the pain is your fault. How about all of us Arsenal fans and our pain? Pathetic. The guy even went so low to point the finger at Wenger! “This process started five years ago” he said and that is true but the last 18 months, you’ve taken us further down, and we’re beaten by our former manager, who has a weaker squad.
Then Arteta said, we must prove it on the pitch. If a win against a poor West Brom team proves how much we care, I guess our target is at best a top half finish, nothing more. Next week we go to Chelsea. FA cup and Champions league finalists, beat City twice in a few weeks, and the Blues were next to us in the league in December. They sacked Lampard and the rest is history.
In an honest spit in our face, the owners confirmed their desire to ruin us by trusting Arteta to “overhaul” the squad this summer. I’m honestly scared for the future of the club. We’ll be financially punished for the Super league fiasco and Kroenke doesn’t like spending money – so who are we signing?
Arteta spoke of being ruthless. The irony is we should’ve been ruthless with him and relieved him of his misery, but in Arsenal-land, lessons are never learned.
I haven’t forgotten our EL performances though. Last seasons exit and this seasons exit performances were diabolical. I am still hurt and I can’t forgive. We shouldn’t waste another summer.
I’m sticking my neck out and saying it now, Arteta will be finished in December 2021. Apart from our terrible league position and abysmal cup exists, he turned Aubameyang into a 10 goals a season striker.
We will likely sell the wrong players, Edu will again sit in the shadow making favors, instead of helping sign players with the right profile to bring us forward, and once we are again finished with our league season ambitions by Christmas we will realize we made a mistake.
I’m not fooled by beating WBA. Arteta had one final chance to show something in his case, and that was Thursday. Now, we’re on a timer to wait his painful managerial death.
Konstantin
I hope not. Nothing Personal. I like him and grateful for his service as a manager and player. Grateful for FA Cups both as Manager and player
But in my opinion he’s had plenty of time to prove himself. His tactics and signings haven’t been good enough
I didn’t watch yesterday and I will not be watching arsenal again until Arteta leaves. Can Arteta be now viewed as a greedy yank. After all isn’t he now basically running his contract down????????.
Beating Wba is nothing to crow about.Now if Arteta can beat Chelsea that will be something.Arsenal have fallen way behind the top 6 teams.
Further self sustaining measures wi ll lead to more decline.
The buck stops with the US owner
Arteta’s system would likely thrive next season, if he can find a new CF that’s perfect for it. Or if he reverts to his old defensive counter-attack tactics, to accommodate Aubameyang
We’ve seen how a main CF can be perfect for a manager’s system and how some striker types can make inconsistent results. For example:
– Neymar and Mbappe didn’t fit into Tuchel’s system at PSG, hence he used a quick one-touch football tactic to face Hansi Flick in CL final and failed badly. At Chelsea, Tuchel has his compatriot Havertz as the main ball holder in the front line, that makes him able to use his positional play again
– Solskjaer was struggling when relying on Martial as his main CF, but it all changed after the arrival of Ighalo, Fernandes and Cavani
absolutely
some players do not suit the manager style
however this may change if there 2 or 3 new players coming in either from external or internal academy
I think Aubameyang had many problems at a personal level that made him underperform this season,that has nothing to do with Arteta.
Am sure he will be given atleast the first 6-8 games of the season to prove that his plan is working.I hope he is given more.
Title is a great example of a loaded question.
True Trudeau – if I ever try to write a lead article I will be sure to write a more neutral heading, avoiding emotive words like “waste” so as to not immediately alienate half of my readers.
Much better odds then of getting my hidden agenda accepted!
the bulk doesn’t stop with him, he could still supply all the money in the world and it will be spent on overrated players or better still world class players will be bought and turned into dunce, we’ve seen it with Pepe, willian, Auba and partey
Lol😂😂😂😂, great biased article. Meanwhile sticking out your neck means nothing, only if u want Ur head cut off🤣🤣🤣. Arsenal have been wasting years since 2007, another year of patience to see what Mikel will do won’t kill us all, so Uncle Konstant, be patient and don’t forget that football comes in cycles
This season
I have watched pretty decent players plunge into mediocrity due to our poor manager. The inability to motivate and other inadequacies, have show Arteta to be a poor manager, particularly as the Villareal game proved. Some say ‘don’t sack him there may be no improvement with a new manager’, but stats show Arteta to be the worst manager for many a year and it would be hard to be so uninspirational. It seems the Kroenke’s are determined to let our club fester like never before. We beat a really poor West Brom team, and some are thinking we are playing well. I don’t think so. Who are more important, over a million supporters or Arteta? I stand firmly on the side of the million supporters.
That’s brave of you Sean! (only teasing)!
guy
💊 Arteta is a personal tranquiliser
😉
For me, if we don’t sack him now but give him 10 games or until the end of the year, this would be short-term thinking of the most devastating kind.
If there is any chance at all of us getting s decent manager to join us it will be now, not in the middle of the season.
The Brendan Rogers or Erik Ten Hag or whoever we fancy will be unlikely to abandon their jobs mid-season.
So if you keep Arteta for another half-season or 10 games you will be stuck with a caretaker manager for the rest of next season and this would be devastating.
So as far as I am concerned sack him now or don’t even speak about sacking him after 10 games or in december.
(BTW I am 80% convinced Arteta is not our guy and 20% of me still believes he could oversee an improvement next season) However, if the club is not sure about him, act now not later.
There is a small chance Brenan Rogers or Ten Hag will join us now but there is zero chance they will join us midseason.
I agree completely. If we are going to sack him do it now, gives the new manager time to see the squad before the transfer window.
The problem is, is that we have limited choices for a new manager now. Pickings are slim whereas a 12-18 months ago we had much better options but wasted our time.
Tuchel!!! Can you imagine if we had jumped on him? Perhaps he would not have come to Arsenal given our limited budget,
We managed to get his physio from PSG i guess that’s something!
I second this 👍
While we watch Chelsea and weep thinking if only!!!
Very interesting points made and I agree
On a different note, although I am gutted with the outcome of our season, on relative basis things could be worse.
We are not too far behind the likes of Everton with the great Ancelotti or Spurs with the ex-great Mourinho. And without any real improvement of the squad but just one or two fewer dumb red cards or Leno blunders, we would be higher up the table without any new players.
I am not saying this as defense of Arteta but more to say that whoever manages us next season, there are a few points we can recover without needing a miracle or complete overhaul of the squad.
As fans, we tend to be overdramatic on either the upside or the downside of our performances or situation.
Very true article
Why you need any complicated formation of false 9 and all?
I don’t remember Sir Alex Ferguson ever played anything else apart from Simple traditional 4-4-2 and 4-3-3
Yet he was the greatest manager in the English football ever…
If Arteta played yesterday’s team against Villarreal with only change is Martinelli on left instead of Willian, Still we would have won the tie..
Things are going to be very difficult in coming years..
Arteta will stay.. He will buy players and he will fail again…
And then He will be sacked or he will resign when things will go out of his control…
At that time we won’t be anyone who can help this club
How many players did MA sign? He inherited a team that was already falling down the hill since Wenger. He has been trying to salvage a team in tatters. How many open chances does seasoned srikers lose? Goals begging to be scored. He won’t come and score those goals. The owners of the club knows they have to rebuild and they trust MA to do that.
You have sense…he even said Arteta turned Auba into a 10 goal striker,, I can’t even remember the one on one’s Auba wasted,,,will Mikel enter the pitch to score them?
Arteta brought in 7 players that he hand-picked because he believed they fit his system. Over half a starting 11 if he ever picked an 11 and gave them a run to find consistency.
This team “falling down the hill” finished better than Arteta and his hand-picked players. Emery missed top 4 by 1 point his first year, and had 3 losses in 8 games in 8th place when he was sacked.
Did Arteta ever get to 8th place this year? Arteta has spent over 100 million on players and Willian’s salary since he has been in charge, so the excuses don’t float regarding the squad he took over.
Although handpicked they were mostly low budget or emergency cover choices rather than his first picks Durand so you need to factor that in. IMO the only full on purchases were Gabriel and Partey. Having said that I agree – he has bought in enough of his TYPE of player for us to reasonably expect improvement.
I also find it ironic that whilst obsessing about right and left footed players (Gabriel and Xhaka for example) he then proceeds to regularly shift half the team in experimental and unnatural positions. Its like watching a football version of “Twister”.
Guy
good comments and I agree with them. Regarding Gabriel and Partey, that was 72 million in transfers, not counting their cost in wages.
A nice sum of money for an owner who doesn’t spend for his manager. Also, he resigned Luiz, made Mari permanent and still spend 27 million on Gabriel.
Lastly, he could have sold Xhaka;
club had an offer, Xhaka wanted to go, and Arteta convinced him to stay.
So he could have brought in another midfielder with that sale.
Point being, this team was completely of Arteta’s choosing; he was promoted and given control of personnel, so the “he wasn’t properly backed” argument falls a bit short.
Exactly and MA also won the FA cup and the Community shield with “that”team!
MA sold Martinez bought Runnasson there are 2 mistakes to start with he is changing the 11 every week top teams keep a stable side.. Chelsea sacked Lampard and now look at them got a top manager they will kill us Wednesday Mark my words
Don’t bother, you won’t change some people’s mind about Arteta’s failings.
Changing manager won’t make a difference they say, but ignore the actions of Chelsea and the results.
The owner doesn’t spend money to help Arteta, yet he has spent over 100 million on players and Willian’s salary since he has been in charge.
They ignore the massive tactical blunders he constantly makes and doesn’t learn, the wrong decisions he made regarding loans (both in and out).
They ignore the standards that got Wenger and Emery sacked, the losses at home this year, and the total number of losses we have this year.
Simply put, if it is about what is best for the club, then it’s a no-brainer Arteta has to go.
The evidence is all around if people only open their eyes and admit the truth they see.
durand, after Wenger and Emery, what makes Arteta so special?
Emery had a better record than Tuchel at PSG and with an ordinary Villarreal team put Arsenal and Arteta out of the Europa League semi final. I am very concerned about meeting Tuchel, another PSG reject, with the squad he can select from Chelsea.
Ozziegunner
My opinion on Arteta is that neither AW or UE were starting out on a managerial career when Arsenal hired them. I expected a bumpy ride and that is why I frequently called for patience. This was what we had bought into and the fact that I’d have wanted the best for Arsenal, the owner and his advisers chose a different path
Correction, Martinez wanted to leave.
Here we go again. Impatient fans looking for instant results. If you look at Arteta’s time here he has spend time getting control over the dressing room. Letting players go who do not deserve to be here. Both transfer windows meant he couldn’t really do anything. In fact we cannot count the January transfer window, as we saw not many players were moving around, with the financial restrictions and the covid pandemic. It was just a bad transfer window for everyone. We have seen most top teams resorting to loan deals. We had an over inflated squad full of trouble makers. He has done pretty well in my humble opinion. We are in the position we are because the players were running this club. These players are used to getting managers fired, just ask the Emery. It is time we give managers proper opportunities to run the teams the proper way. No manager would be able to do what the fans are expecting. We are in a process of stabilizing this team, that means more players have to leave. Then only we can see players come in. Just look at our team and than you realize how many players should not be there, nevermind don’t deserve to be there. We are in a very difficult process and a lot of players are uncomfortable right now but it is absolutely necessary for us to turn the corner. We need to build a team who wants to win. And no top manager is coming here with these bunch if he can’t get rid off them. Arteta has done exactly that, hence we are in the position we are in. Our Captain coming late, not performing on the pitch, along with many other poor performers. Our standing on the log as well as not qualifying is down to these players. But the management has wised up to these players and realize that it is necessary to purge out the problems and change the culture in this squad that started six years ago. I for one am not disappointed. I believe the manager should complete the project he started than we can judge him. Getting another manager now will not solve our problems until the Aubamayeng’s are gone and we have a stable and disciplined dressing room. I support the manager for what he is doing. He is taking control back. Give him time you will see. #Player power must fall.
I concur with much of what you say as it is clearly the case However, I was until last week still supporting MA as our long term manager.
But after deep thinking, I HAVE COME TO THE SAD CONCLUSION THAT HE IS MAKING FAR TOO MANY BASIC SELECTION , SHAPE AND TACTICAL ERRORS, SO I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND, AS THE EVIDENCE OF HIS INEXPERIENCE HAS MOUNTED . That is not to say I do not agree with much of what you say about this troublesome,uneven and not pulling together as one squad, which he can only be partly blamed for .
Most of his bought imports- as opposed to the freebies – have been good buys and show at least potential and ability. But we need far more radical overhauling of this squad and I can only blame our uninterested owner for that plight. For any REAL sea change at our club we need an owner who cares for thre club . No manager can be expectedt o get REAL success, while Kroenke owns us!
Jon Fox and I were in a diminishing group of people who thought that Arteta could turn the corner but that gave way after the Thursday night fiasco for me
I had approved of the letting go of Ozil etc and stamping his authority on Guendouzi who behaved life an upstart. There was by all accounts a powerful player clique that needed addressing
Several stupid mistakes made by players of enough seniority to materially affect our points tally this season haven’t helped and yet for every one person who wants the likes of Xhaka, Luiz and Leno out, there has been another who thinks they have been important to the team. No one agrees on anything very much – apart from the many who want Arteta gone
I did feel that Arteta was an exciting prospect: the cup win was so uplifting, even more so because the club had decided to appoint a candidate with no managerial experience. I was prepared to accept a bumpy road even though they should have gone for the best. There does come a point at which questions have to be asked of Arteta and Thursday was the final straw for me, having wavered back and forth for a couple of months.
The difficult problem that has to be faced is who is right for the job of rebuilding a club that has been in decline for a number of years and not just under Arteta. I’m not blaming him for those shortcomings
Managers that are serial winners are either not interested or are at successful clubs already. The suggestion that the club pays a massive release clause to get our man doesn’t appear to fit in with Kroenke’s usual financial policy. Maybe having allowed his club to sink down to the middle order, he just might have to do something radical- but I’m not holding my breath
Sue P So glad you included my name in your post, as I would not have altered a single word of the whole POST, had I writtenit myself. MARVELLOUS REALITY OF THE TRUE SITUATION!
From an obviously intelligent man, I thought Arteta could have learned more quickly. I listened to a presenter talking about Rooney at Derby, forever tinkering in his first job. Very similar to Arteta.
Who knows if Arteta, who looks likely to be in post come the new season, can mature enough to go to the next step?
INDEED Sue P. Compere to when Wenger first came and saw right at the start that our famous back four which he inherited needed no changing . It DID evolve, in good time, and such as Adams became more ball playing as a defender than before but no silly tinkering right away.
To my mind MA talks extremely well in interviews but changes his mind and formations constantly and that is confusing players. His words are dynamic but his actions betray that impression.
I still think though that IF -and it is unlikely I think – but IF things go well next early season, he MAY be kept on longer and then , who knows what could happen.
But realistically, I think he has blown his big chance and its an awful long way back from where we are now , esp with Kroenke not spending and not caring.
NO manager who would accept the job under Kroenke- thus ruling out the best names – would have a real chance either. Esp with our very impatient fans!
If you all truly believe all what you say about the issues with the playing staff and the leadership of the club then I think you are being rather unkind to Arteta.
He may have made mistakes but there is no manager that hasn’t.
He has tweaked his team often this season. This is evidently because many players, especially senior ones, have underperformed.
Consider the forwards in recent weeks.: Aubameyang has underperformed for much of the season – what is particularly troublesome is that when not scoring his impact is extremely limited.
Lacazette is the only one with reasonable form recently but is not a consistent goalscorer and recently was injured.
A lot of noise was made about Martinelli but he is clearly not back to the level he was before his injury.
Arteta clearly needs more time to build a squad. Whether another manager could have got more out of this squad is uncertain. To consistently challenge for major honours however requires a much better roster.
Sorry but I don’t share the confidence in Arteta that you do. He has shown nothing worthy of believing in, not his tactics, decisions, or selections.
Sorry but some of us are unwilling to lower the standard to accommodate this arrogant rookie coach. This lower standard is exactly what Kronke wants, lower expectations, lower pressure on him to be a proper caretaker of the club.
Asking fans to “trust the process” of a rookie coach who has never built a single thing in his life is a disaster waiting to happen.
He doesn’t know his best starting 11, and you trust him to build a squad to get back to the CL?
He plays a false 9 for the first time in our biggest game of the season, and the false 9 is a 20 year old rookie in his first year in PL.
These Arteta fanboys are a problem Arteta has done enough damage to this club, worst manager we’ve ever had and I foresee a Chelsea win on Wednesday.The man let us down
‘Impatient fans looking for instant results’…. sheesh!!
I wouldn’t have thought it was too much to ask for to win more than 2 games on the spin (especially at home), play entertaining football and turn up for the most crucial game of your season, would you?
Tuchel 4 months in – just goes to show what can happen with the right personnel, hey?
Haven’t seen you this fired up before Sue. You must be fed up.
Very much so, Joe!!
Not an “Arteta In” nor “Arteta Out” comment – but Mikel Arteta will start the 2021/22 season as Arsenal’s first team manager.
I am certain* of that too, whether or not we wish it. * The only thing that might alter that is if the club changed owners first. THEN, I think we would see a new man installed straightaway.
Precisely jon.
As you and I have said all along, KROENKE is the FIRST issue that needs to be to addressed – a “domino effect ” may then follow.
Simply replacing one manager with another, AND THEN EXPECTING THE NEW INCUMBANT TO WORK UNDER THE SAME CONSTRAINTS WILL NOT WORK.
That said Mikel has made it impossibly hard for himself (and us of faith), as some of his decisions (particularly of late) simply defy logic.
But again, for the immediate future Mikel is Kroenke’s man – and the summer window (whatever that may bring) will be entrusted to Edu / Arteta.
Replacing him mid-season will be a big setback since we won’t find too many top managers available in the middle of a season. Which means what? Freddie back as interim manager? Frightening.
👍
Arteta has proven something incredible this season and that’s that he is the more dangerous cancer than the satan kranky himself.
If you thought this season was bad, just you wait for the next one, where he’ll have even less money to buy “his players”.
His arrogance will be the undoing of both Arsenal and himself unless the kranky family realises that the Spanish Pulis is their one-way ticket to Championship.
And I strongly believe he is. And the next season will prove it, when we finish between 10th and 17th. I do hope he proves me wrong and I do hope I eat my words once the 2021/2022 season is over.
Also, let me remind you all that Roberto Martinez won the FA Cup with Wigan, a club that is now in League 1, a league fit for Mikel’s coaching skills and a league waiting for Arsenal, should the Spanish Pulis keep his post.
Again, I hope I’ll eat all my words.
AJ Says who? I would not bank on it. If we get a good beating on Wednesday it might be over then. But it is not over till the fat lady sings
Tuchel has been coaching in Europe’s big leagues for over a decade now, and has rightly earned a reputation as an expert tactician who improves the players he works with. What he doesn’t do is forge lifelong friendships with his superiors.
So it is only a matter of time until they start crying again. As they say, a new broom sweeps clean. Ask PSG.
@Dboy, by that time their trophy cabinet may be one UCL and one FA Cup richer. (Maybe even more)
Chelsea are never scared of changing coaches. The philosophy is simple. “Win and keep on winning”. No excuses.
On the other hand, our owners don’t mind experimenting and giving cheap excuses.
WASTE being the operative word!
Cmon people – much as I agree about what most of us WANT, and that we should keep pushing for it, it would be more relevant surely to talk in terms of what will almost certainly WILL happen in the next 6 months, and what we can achieve as a result:
– Kroenke will still control Arsenal
– Arteta will still be manager
– We will be able to offload a maximum of 3-4 deadwood players
– We will be able to buy a maximum of 2-3 good players ie second or third tier
– For any more we must look at bargain basement or loans
Thats the reality. To avoid disappointment maybe we can talk about what we can do within that framework? I for one am pretty bored with most discussions being about sacking Arteta and who to replace him with when it wont happen, like it or not.
Silent Stan is the only man that can answer that question?
He made the squad worse than it was when he arrived, he made tactical brain farts, he broke almost every negative record imaginable, he personally lost us the draw against Villareal and he has the audacity to blame anything on anyone other than himself.
With such a horrible person at the helm, we can only slump further down, regardless of investments.
I’d rather Big Sam coached the Arsenal squad than this Spanish Pulis.
Horrible, horrible person. I’m deeply disappointed. I hope he gets sacked in January if not by the end of the season.